Indicator apparatus for clothes-drying machines.



PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

W. M. BARNES. INDICATOR APPARATUS FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 19, 1901.

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PATENTEDJ'UNE 23, 1903.

w. M. BARNES. INDICATOR APPARATUS FOR CLOTHES DRYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1901.

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WILLIAM M. BARNES, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

INDICATOR APPARATUS FOR CLOTHES-DRYING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 731,656, dated June 23, 1903. Application filed February 19, 1901. Serial No. 47,904. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM M. BARNES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Indicator Apparatus for Clothes-Drying Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. 1

My invention relates to that class of driers in which the goods to be dried are carried by an endless carrier, the goods being carried by such drier through a heated room and dried during their passage therethrough, after which they are automatically stripped from the chain into baskets by strippers. In carrying on the drying operation it is customary, and indeed necessary, for the systematic performance of the work to divide the goods into batches, keeping the batches separate before and after the drying operation. Inasmuch, however, as the goods of one batch are suspended from the carrier immediately behind the goods of the preceding batch, the utmost care and watchfulness is required on the part of the employees to prevent the goods of one batch being stripped off into a basket containing goods of the preceding batch and mixed therewith. Indeed this often happens, owing to an mployees negligence or due to his being so much occupied that he cannot afford to stand and watch the goods as they approach the stripper.

The object of my invention is to provide an automatic alarm whereby when that part of the carrier between two successive batches approaches the stripper an alarm will be sounded, thus notifying the employee that a new batch of goods is approaching the stripper, thus making it unnecessary for the employee to spend any large part of his time watching the carrier and enabling him to occupy with other work all of his time except the time actually required to change baskets.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a section on line 1 1 of Fig. 2 of the drying-room, the endless carrier extending through and outside of the drying-room and my alarm attachments. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the electrical connections to the alarm attachments. Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a modified form of embodiment of my invention.

A is the drying-room B, the endless carrier; C, an endless track therefor; (Z, the drivingshaft, driven from any suitable source of rier B consists mainly of wheels 0, sprocket chain c, and transverse goods-supporting pins 0 The wheels are arranged in pairs and run on the solid part of the bottom of the track on either side of the slot. Each pair of wheels is secured to a common shaft,

011 which is sleeved a shank 0 extending. down through the slot of the track and secured at its lower end to one of thelinks of the sprocket-chain 0. Depending from the links of the sprocket-chain are a series of arms 0', to the lower ends of which are secured the goods-supporting pinsc The stripper F may be of any approved con struction and should be arranged just exterior to the drying-room. I have shown a con struction consisting of the upper and lower horizontal members ff, extending at an angle toward the pins 0 and between which the pins successively pass during the travel of the chain.

G is the opening through which the chain passes into the dryingroom, and H is the opening through which the chain passes out of the drying-room.

The apparatus as thus far described contains nothing of novelty.

The alarm or indicator apparatus (shown in Figs. 1 to 3) comprises the following devices: K is a small metal plate, forming an electrical contact, secured to the wall exterior to the drying-room and immediately below the endless carrier. M is a battery, one pole of which is connected by wire on with an alarm-bell or indicator N,which is connected bywire mwith contact K, while the other pole is connected by wire m with the bearing (1' of shaft d. L is a small metal contact plate or projection removably suspended from the carrier. The plate L has a small hole through it, whereby it may be slipped upon one of the pins 0 The position of contact K is such that it is in the path of travel of contact L and will be engaged thereby after contact L emerges from the drying-room. The stripper F is located as close as desirable to contact K.

When the employee who hangs the goods upon the carrier has finished hanging any particular batch, he suspends one of the contacts L upon a pin 0 immediately in front of the first piece of goods of the next batch. hen the contact L reaches and contacts with the contact K, the following batterycircuit is established: from one pole of the battery through wire m, alarm-bell N ,wire m, contact K, contact L, carrier 13, driving-wheel D,sl1aft d, bearing d, and thence through wire m to the other pole of the battery. The alarm being sounded, the employee responds, and as soon as the stripper has removed the last piece of goods of the first batch removes the basket and substitutes another basket for the reception of the goods of the next batch, at the same time removing the contact L from the carrier.

Any suitable indicating device'may be substituted for the alarm-bell, and my invention is not limited to the specific details described respecting the arrangement of contacts and electrical connections.

In Fig. 4 I have shown how my invention may be carried out without the use of electricity. In this case the indicator apparatus may consist of a bell Q, having a tongue q, supported by a spring R. The part L instead of making electrical connections positively strikes the tongue q, the same being in line of travel of part L. The bell is preferably supported by a spring for the purpose of causing the bell to vibrate when it is struck, thus prolonging the duration of the ringing of the bell.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is p 1. In a drying apparatus, in combination, a drying-room, an endless carrier, the dryingroom having openings through which the carrier extends, a traveling contact carried by the carrier, a stationary contact exterior to the drying-room and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of current-supply, an indicator in circuit therewith, and electrical connection to the source of current-supply and indicator adapted to establish a closed circuit upon the engagement of the traveling contact with the stationary contact, substantially as described.

2. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a drying -room having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to the drying-room, a traveling contact carried by the carrier, at stationary contact exterior to the drying-room and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of currentsupply, an indicator in circuit therewith, and electrical connections to the source of currentsupply and indicator adapted to establish a closed circuit upon the engagement of the traveling contact with the stationary contact, substantially as described.

3. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a drying room having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to the drying-room, a traveling contact, means for connecting said con tact to the carrier at different points along its length, a stationary contact exterior to the drying-room and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of current-supply, an indicator in circuit therewith, and electrical connections to the source of current-supply and indicator adapted to establish a closed circuit upon the engagement of the traveling contact with the stationary contact,substantially as described.

4. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a dryingroom having openings through which the carrier extends, a traveling contact carried by the carrier, a fixed contact exterior to the drying-room and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of current-supply, electric connections therefrom to the fixed contact and to the traveling contact, and an indicator in the electric circuit.

5. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a drying room having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to the drying-room, a traveling contact carried by the carrier, a fixed contact exterior to the drying-room and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of current -supply, electric connections therefrom to the fixed contact and to the traveling contact, and an indicator in the electric circuit, substantially as described.

6. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a drying room having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to the drying-room, a traveling contact, means for connecting said contact to the carrier at diiferent points along its length, a fixed contact exterior to the drying room and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier and in the path of travel of the traveling contact, a source of current-supply, electric connections therefrom to the fixed contact and to the traveling contact, and an indicator in the electric circuit, substantially as described.

7. In a drying apparatus, in combination, a drying-room, an endless carrier, the dryingroom having openings through which the car- IOC IIO

rier extends,goods-supporting devices carried by said carrier, a travelin projection separate from and independent of said goods-supporting devices and adapted to be removably secured to said carrier, and an indicator appa ratus adapted when engaged by the traveling carrier to be put into operation, substantially as described.

8. In a drying apparatus, in combination, a drying-room, an endless carrier, the dryingroom having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to said dryingroom, goodssupporting devices carried by said carrier, a traveling projection separate from and independent of said goods-supporting devices, and adapted to be removably secured to said carrier, and an indicator apparatus in the path of travel of the projection and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier adapted when engaged by the traveling projection to be put into operation, substantially as described.

9. In a drying apparatus, in combination, adrying-room, an endless carrier, the dryingroom having openings through which the carrier extends, a stripper exterior to said dryingroom, goods-supporting devices fixedly secured to said carrier, a traveling projection, separate from and independent of said goodssupportin g devices, means for connecting said projection to the carrier at difierent points along its length, and an indicator apparatus in the path of travel of the projection and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier adapted when engaged by the traveling projection to be put into operation, substantially as described.

10. In a drying apparatus, in combination, a drying-room, an'endless carrier, the dryingroom having openings through which the carrier extends, a series of arms 0 depending from the carrier, a series of goods-supporting pins 0 secured to the lower ends of said arms, an orificed plate L removably slipped upon one of said pins, and an indicator apparatus adapted when engaged by the plate L to be put into operation.

11. In a drying apparatus, in combination, an endless carrier, a drying room having openings through which the carrier extends, a track upon which the carrier travels, a driving-pulley engaging and driving the carrier, a shaft for driving the driving-pulley, a bearing for the shaft, a stripper exterior to the drying-room, a contact removably secured to the carrier, a contact exterior to the drying room, and between the stripper and exit-opening for the carrier and in the path of travel of the first-named contact, a source of currentsupply, electrical connections therefrom to the shaft-bearing and last-named contact,and an indicator in the circuit adapted to be operated by the closing of the circuit due to the engagement of the contact carried by the carrier with the other contact, substantially as described.

I11 testimony of which invention I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, on this 13th day of February, 1901.

M. F. ELLIs, M. M. HAMILTON. 

